Square Rolls Out New Partnerships and Features to Enable Beauty and Wellness Sellers to Succeed

Rhea-AI Summary

Square has announced new partnerships and features to support beauty and wellness sellers. Key highlights include:

• A distribution partnership with SalonCentric, allowing beauty professionals to purchase Square Readers in-store and receive promotional pricing for Square Appointments Plus
• New integrations in the Square App Marketplace with SalonInteractive, Vish, Submatic, Pomp, SalonScale, and Glammatic
• Introduction of Packages feature for bulk service purchases
• No-Show Fee by Service and Service Costs (Backbar) features for better business management
• Improvements to online booking experience, including Customized Online Booking and 'Text Us' Button
• New calendar management tools like Color Coded Services and Block Clients

Positive

• Partnership with SalonCentric expands Square's reach to over 1 million active customers
• New integrations with six beauty-focused apps enhance Square's functionality
• Packages feature enables bulk service purchases, potentially increasing revenue
• No-Show Fee feature resulted in a 23% decrease in no-shows and last-minute cancellations in Q1 2024
• 'Text Us' button during online booking led to 33% of inquiring clients booking a service

Negative

• None.

Insights

Market Research Analyst

Square's new partnerships and features for beauty and wellness sellers represent a significant expansion of their ecosystem. The distribution partnership with SalonCentric, which has over 1 million active customers and 600+ stores, greatly increases Square's reach in the beauty industry. New integrations with specialized software like SalonInteractive, Vish and Pomp address specific pain points in salon management, potentially making Square a more attractive option for beauty professionals.

Key product enhancements like Packages, No-Show Fee by Service and Service Costs (Backbar) directly address revenue generation and cost management issues common in the industry. The improved booking flow features, particularly the 'Text Us' button which has shown a 33% conversion rate, could significantly impact client acquisition and retention. These improvements position Square to capture a larger share of the growing beauty and wellness market, potentially driving increased transaction volume and revenue for the company.

Financial Analyst

This expansion in Square's beauty and wellness vertical could have positive implications for SQ's financial performance. The partnership with SalonCentric opens up a substantial new sales channel, potentially accelerating hardware adoption and software subscriptions. The introduction of Packages and enhanced no-show fees could drive higher average transaction values and improve sellers' profitability, which in turn may increase Square's take rate.

While specific financial projections aren't provided, the breadth of new features and integrations suggests a significant investment in R&D. This could pressure margins in the short term but may lead to increased market share and customer retention in the long run. The focus on reducing no-shows (down 23% for businesses using the feature) and improving booking conversions could translate to higher gross payment volume (GPV) processed through Square's platform, a key driver of revenue growth.

New distribution partnership and powerful integrations expand the way sellers discover and use Square

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Square today announced new partner integrations to give sellers a wider selection of tools that enable them to grow and succeed, alongside a new distribution partnership with SalonCentric that brings Square’s hardware and software offerings to more beauty professionals. Additionally, Square has rolled out a number of new features and product enhancements designed to help beauty and wellness sellers increase sales, provide clients with improved personalization, and more effectively manage back-office operations.

As the largest beauty product B2B distributor in the US, SalonCentric provides high quality products exclusively to beauty professionals at scale, with more than 1 million active customers and over 600 brick-and-mortar stores nationwide. Through this partnership, sellers can now purchase a Square Reader in any SalonCentric store, and receive promotional pricing for Square Appointments Plus with their purchase. Together, Square and SalonCentric are ensuring that all beauty professionals have access to the tools they need to start, run, and grow their business.

“SalonCentric's philosophy is to be the one-stop destination for beauty professionals to find everything they need to run their business from products to education. Our role as the industry leader is to help salons embrace new technologies to be more successful, including business solutions like Square," said Bertrand Fontaine, President of SalonCentric. "We are very happy with our partnership with Square as we share the same values in supporting an industry mainly made of small business owners and making their lives easier by providing not only the best tech, but also the right education support.”

Each beauty and wellness seller is unique and requires powerful solutions that enable them to save time and operate more efficiently. Square’s latest partnerships provide beauty and wellness sellers with deeply integrated solutions that streamline their operations and reduce the complexity of running and growing their business. Now available in the Square App Marketplace:

• SalonInteractive’s integration with Square enables sellers to earn additional revenue from drop shipped hair and beauty products, and frees them from handling all logistics from packing and shipping to delivery.
• Vish, a hair color management system, allows hair salon owners to understand all aspects of their color business. Vish integrates seamlessly with Square so sellers and their staff can track color usage to increase accuracy of color application, eliminate manual inventory counting, and reduce color waste.
• Submatic empowers sellers to create, sell, and manage memberships for repeat clients with automated communications and discounts. With this integration, joint sellers can view memberships within Square, and easily track benefits on customer accounts.
• Pomp, the leading software provider for estheticians, lets sellers recommend skincare and earn commissions without stocking inventory or managing shipping. With the Pomp and Square integration, sellers can build client routines, sell products online, and elevate the client experience seamlessly.
• SalonScale is an industry-leading backbar management software. Through this integration, sellers can simplify their tracking of hair color usage with automatic inventory counts, improving color accuracy, and minimizing color waste.
• Glammatic, a beauty marketing software company, provides sellers with powerful digital marketing tools and customer support, enabling them to have beautiful custom websites with Square online booking, managed social media marketing, and access to brand consulting services.

In addition to partner integrations, Square has continued to strengthen its product portfolio for beauty and wellness sellers, while also offering new features that bring unique benefits. With these solutions, sellers of every size and complexity are better equipped to build modernized operations that in return create exceptional client experiences.

Bringing More Value to Services

Square’s new service features provide sellers with enhanced functionality to help them increase revenue and gain deeper insight into their business.

• Packages, one of the top requested features, enables clients to purchase services in bulk—whether it's a set of the same service or a mix of different ones—giving sellers the ability to drive repeat clients and boost revenue. Buyers can oversee the entire process online, from browsing and selecting a package to booking and management. Sellers can migrate Package data from legacy providers to Square.
• No-Show Fee by Service empowers beauty and wellness sellers to set no-show fees for each service as either a percentage or flat rate, offering sellers more control over how they operate their business. In Q1 2024, businesses that used Square Appointments’ no-show feature experienced on average a 23% decrease in no-shows and last-minute cancellations compared to Q1 2023, helping prevent loss of income.
• Service Costs (Backbar) gives sellers the ability to track service costs by default spend or percentage. This gives sellers the ability to deduct service costs from commission calculations and to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between revenue and service costs. Sellers can also use this feature on desktop and mobile.

“With Square’s Packages feature, our clients can purchase services and redeem as they go, making it easier for them to manage their appointments," said Michele Callegari, CEO and Co-Founder of Barberino’s, a barbershop in New York, NY. "Our clients have told us how much they love our Packages offering since it's flexible and meets their unique needs. Packages have also been a huge unlock for my business since I can grow sales by encouraging repeat business."

Optimizing the Booking Flow

New improvements to Square Appointments’ booking software give sellers more ways to enhance the client experience, increasing booking conversion and driving higher client satisfaction.

• Customized Online Booking enables sellers to offer a better client experience for increased bookings and conversion through Square’s Brand API. Beauty and wellness sellers can better promote their business through an improved booking experience by leveraging logo and brand colors, staff and service photos, and category images. Sellers can also add website and social media links, as well as business hours.
• ‘Text Us’ Button on Buyer Booking helps sellers consolidate and better manage client inquiries across channels. Clients can simply submit questions through a ‘Text Us’ button during online booking, and sellers can manage all correspondences in their Square Messages inbox. This feature has been shown to increase client conversion, with 33% of clients that submit an inquiry via the ‘Text Us’ button ultimately booking a service with the seller, as of April 2024.
• Post Booking Forms automatically sends links to required booking forms in appointment confirmation notifications to buyers. Sellers can save time by removing the need to manually collect forms at the appointment or sending separate correspondences. Now, after scheduling an appointment, a client will receive a booking confirmation that includes intake forms to be completed before the appointment, creating a seamless check-in process for both clients and providers.

Streamlined Insights and Back Office Controls

To bring more visibility into their operations, Square introduced several features that empower sellers with more insights and control while simplifying calendar and staff management.

• New Versus Returning Client Indicator labels appointments with new clients on a seller’s calendar, better enabling businesses and their staff to initiate a consultation flow or offer first-time client perks like a salon tour or coupon to drive loyalty.
• Color Coded Services, a top feature request, allows sellers to customize their calendar with color coding by service type, in addition to the capability to color code by staff. This enables sellers and their staff to better organize and manage their calendar.
• Block Clients lets sellers block specific clients from future online bookings to minimize calendar disruptions from clients that consistently no-show or last-minute cancel, better protecting a seller’s bottom line.

“Beauty and wellness sellers need flexible solutions to operate however works best for them across channels,” said Ashley Heywood, Health & Beauty Product Marketing Lead at Square. “Square’s latest product enhancements enable sellers to personalize their business for even more power and control. At Square, we’re committed to meeting the needs of every seller whether you’re just getting started, hiring your first employee, or operating a multi-location salon.”

For more information about Square’s solutions for beauty and wellness sellers, visit squareup.com/solutions/beauty.

About Square

Square makes commerce and financial services easy and accessible with its integrated ecosystem of commerce solutions. Square offers purpose-built software to run complex restaurant, retail, and professional services operations, versatile e-commerce tools, embedded financial services and banking products, buy now, pay later functionality through Afterpay, staff management and payroll capabilities, and much more – all of which work together to save sellers time and effort. Millions of sellers across the globe trust Square to power their business and help them thrive in the economy. For more information, visit www.squareup.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241021062256/en/

press@squareup.com

Source: Block, Inc.

FAQ

What new partnership did Square announce for beauty professionals?

Square announced a distribution partnership with SalonCentric, allowing beauty professionals to purchase Square Readers in any SalonCentric store and receive promotional pricing for Square Appointments Plus.

How has Square improved its online booking system for beauty and wellness sellers?

Square has introduced Customized Online Booking, which allows sellers to use their brand colors and logos, and added a 'Text Us' button for client inquiries during the booking process.

What new feature has Square introduced to help sellers manage no-shows?

Square has introduced the No-Show Fee by Service feature, allowing sellers to set no-show fees for each service as either a percentage or flat rate.

How can beauty and wellness sellers using Square (SQ) now offer bulk service purchases?

Square has introduced a new Packages feature that allows clients to purchase services in bulk, either as a set of the same service or a mix of different ones.

What new calendar management tools has Square (SQ) introduced for beauty and wellness sellers?

Square has introduced Color Coded Services, allowing sellers to customize their calendar with color coding by service type, and Block Clients, which lets sellers block specific clients from future online bookings.